In the previous year, local authorities installed an automatic rising bollard in The Hague, in The Netherlands. This was done to keep cars from following behind buses and emergency vehicles in their designated lane. The bollard can drop into the pavement, to allow buses and ambulances through, but then rise again to stop other cars from following behind. However, according to Regio15, since it was introduced in June, 2021, 50 cars have crashed into the bollard, trying to outrun or outsmart it.
In the beginning of when it was installed, drivers would crash into them everyday. It is fortunate that no serious accident has resulted from this. There have been only a few passengers in the past year needing minor medical attention afterward. The most affected object in this collision is the car as the solid stainless steel pole is nearly a foot in diameter and goes up to a few feet from the ground.
On Thursday, November 4, the 50th car hit the bollard. It was a white Toyota Corolla, whose driver told police that they tried to drive over the bollard, closely behind a bus. However, the bollard rose up again and damaged the car. Its whole front end was affected—its front bumper was wrecked, its hood popped open, and its headlights popped out. It is a miracle that the two passengers did not require any medical attention.
Automatic bollards have always proved to be tricky for arrogant, impatient drivers that try to outsmart them. But this one in The Netherlands seems like a magnet for such drivers and the reason for this is yet to be revealed. Incident rates are slowing down, but they’re still shockingly high. We hope it is a good lesson for other drivers to learn from and not repeat the same mistakes in outsmarting the bollard.